Comrades
by TabithaHallows
Summary: Who's willing to go into the ghost-infested practically condemned castle ruins? Eren Yeager, of course! But they're not nearly as scary as everyone thinks.


"I dare you to go inside the old haunted castle after school."

That was how it started. Jean and his big mouth. Reiner Braun was a big kid and not just in size. He was ten which meant he was supposed to be infinitely smarter and braver. So, Jean saw no reason why he couldn't just stroll right up to the old castle ruins.

Reiner may have been older, but the stories of the tormented spirits that haunted the ruins freaked him out just as any seven year old. He had been in the process of telling Jean how stupid that dare was and that it wasn't worth trudging all the way through the forest when Jean had bents his arms in at his sides and leapt around the classroom squawking like a chicken. That was practically a declaration of war.

As dumb as Eren thought Jean looked and as funny as it would be to watch Reiner run from the castle screaming, there were more important things to think about.

"I'll do it." Eren had spoken up.

Silence filled the room, only broken by the sound of Sasha opening a packet of chips with a metallic crinkle.

Armin immediately stepped in, reminding everyone of how dangerous the ruins were.

Jean called him a chicken too and now Eren had all the more reason to rub whatever he could in Jean's face.

No one was wholly surprised that Eren had offered himself up as ghost bait. Out of all the children, he was easily the most reckless and tenacious, always with something to prove but not sure what that something was.

Ymir laughed at him, told him that she hoped it had a spare pair of underwear in his school bag. Being an older kid didn't afford her any maturity.

Connie and Sasha hugged him and cry actual tears, certain that they'd never see him again.

Armin, Christa, Marco and Bertold had formed a common opinion of 'that's stupid, please don't do it', but Eren hadn't earned his infamy by listening to the good kids.

Annie, Mina, Thomas, Anna and Franz had all overheard the conversation and all knew better than to get involved, pulling on their pack backs and leaving before they could get into another Eren Yeager situation.

"You're lucky, Mikasa isn't here." Armin hissed in his ear. "She'd drag you home by your hair if she wasn't home sick."

"I'll be fine." Eren brushed him off. "I'm not afraid of some old ghosts."

"You should be!" Connie squeaked out. "My dad said that we should just leave the ghost alone or they might be mad!"

"Well, my mum said that ghost don't even exist." Jean flicked Connie's nose.

"Ow!" Connie slapped at his arm.

"You're both idiots!" Ymir grabbed each one by the ear.

"Ymir, don't hurt them!" Christa jumped forwards.

"Are you seriously gonna go in there?" Sasha asked Eren, mouth half full, eyes wide.

"No biggie." Eren shrugged, feeling quite superior.

"This is such a bad idea." Bertold fidgeted with his fingers nervously.

"You guys are just gonna get in trouble." Said Marco.

"Only if you tell!" Jean pouted.

"But it's dangerous in there!"

"What could be more dangerous then, Eren?" Jean shrugged.

That's what had to lead them to the clearing at the very edge of Shiganshina Forest.

The Shiganshina Forest stretched entire across the north of Maria, the small town that was Eren's home. Right on the other side of Shiganshina Forest was the Trost section. There had once been a tall brick wall separating the two but after many decades of exposure to the elements and the destructive force of tree roots, they'd been reduced to rubble. All the children could be sure of was that the clearing they stood before was part of Rose and therefore the Trost section.

For whatever reason, no trees had ever gown too close to the castle ruins, although that didn't stop the grass from growing almost up to Eren's waist. It left the ruins surrounded by a ring of towering trees on either side.

There were drawings in the town halls of both Maria and Rose of what people had deduced the castle had once looked like in the days of its use. Historians, archaeologists and anthropologist had flocked to the site but all they could ever ascertain was that it had once been some kind of military base, other than that, they were completely stumped. They couldn't even be sure who's military had occupied it.

Eren could recall just a few years ago when someone had been trying to figure what had actually happened to the building itself. After all, there were many buildings built from the same materials and from times much further back that was still in relatively good shape. In fact, castles of this type had been reportedly built to withstand a great deal, almost effectively crossing out the effects of the elements.

Being such an object of speculation, the castle was deemed off-limits to anyone who didn't have permission from one of the town councils.

The children of both Maria and Rose had, of course, been told to keep away from it. Not only was it an important historical site that had yet to yield all its answers, but what was left of the structure was largely unstable. This naturally didn't stop either the young or the stupid. The castle was completely unguarded and so anyone willing to make the twenty walk through the forest was perfectly able to access it.

The rumours of ghosts had come about quite naturally. There were stories stretching back over two hundred years about the kind of spirits that roamed the area. Even the forest itself was said to be haunted although neither Eren or any of his friends had found proof of that. It was only the castle ruins that they were sure held some kind of ghostly secret.

One of the oldest stories spoke about a one-eyed, cackling demon that would chase people back into the forest. Another told about the smell of blood and the sounds of footsteps so loud your ears would ring for days.

Connie's older cousin had come out here with a group of friends almost ten years ago and had come back into town screaming about the headless figure of a child. They'd caused such a fuss that the ruins were searched. Nothing ever came of it and it joined the horror stories that were told at every sleepover and to every tourist.

"This place is giving me the creeps guys." Connie's voice trembled when he spoke.

"Don't be such a baby." Ymir sniggered.

"Leave him alone, Ymir." Christa tugged on the girl's arm. "It is creepy."

"It's just a pile of rocks." Jean scoffed.

"Oh, really?" Marco leered at him. "Is that why you're you're not going in?"

"Shut up, Marco!"

"Look, this is just an all-around bad idea, guys," Armin warned them, looking as he wished his sweater would swallow him whole. "If we get caught out here we're all going to be in big trouble and not just by our parents!"

"Armin's right," Marco added. "Remember when officer Hannes came to school last year and told us to never come here?"

"Are you really gonna listen to that old boozer?" Ymir snorted.

"Yeah, not a great example, Marco." Said Sasha. "My dad said that officer Hannes couldn't walk in a straight when he's sober, let alone drunk."

"That doesn't change the fact that we're gonna be in trouble if we're caught," Armin spoke up again.

"Oh, calm down, Mushroom Head." Ymir rolled her eyes. "It's not like you're the one going in, now are you?"

All eyes drifted to Eren.

"You really want to do this?" Bertold asked timidly.

"Yeah, why not?" Eren shrugged.

"I can think of so many good reasons." Marco sighed.

"If you're gonna do this," Said Reiner. "then I think we need some kind of code word."

"Code word?" Said Sasha, biting into a ham sandwich.

"Yeah, like something so Eren can like us know if we need to run and get help and something so we can warn him if we get caught."

"I say we leave Eren in both situations." Said Jean.

"Shut up, Horse Face." Eren stuck his tongue out at the other boy.

"Don't call me that!"

"Make me!"

"Oi!" Reiner stood between them. "If you both kill each other out here then your ghosts are gonna be trapped here just like all the others."

"Did you really have to say that?" Connie whimpered miserably.

"Look, if you little dweebs are gonna do something entertaining, then hurry it up already." Ymir groaned.

"Ymir, this isn't entertaining this is dangerous." Christa frowned disapprovingly.

"You still up for it, Yeager?" Jean sneered over at Eren.

"You bet, Kristen."

"Okay, I know you guys think using just last names is cool because people do it in movies but it's really not."

"Oh, my, God, Marco!" Jean hissed at him. "Now, is not the time."

"Eren." Armin tried to pull him aside. "You literally have no reason to do this. Let's just go home. Your mum, dad and Mikasa are going to take turns killing you if they find out."

"Right, about that," Reiner spoke up again. "Everyone here automatically agrees to keep their mouth's shut. If anyone squeals then we're all gonna be in deep."

"Don't we have to like, make a blood pack or something?" Said Connie.

"Um, no?" Reiner squinted at him.

"Gross, Connie." Jean made a disgusted face.

"Shut up! I read about it in a book!"

"You can read?" Sasha asked him seriously.

"I hate every single one of you."

"Okay, well I'm gonna go now." Eren shrugged off his backpack and dropped it on the ground.

"Eren, don't!" Armin shouted after him.

"Oh, he gonna do it!" Ymir cheered Eren on as he stepped out into the clearing, half stumbling over what was left of the wall.

"Be careful!" Marco hissed.

"Watch out for ghosts!" Connie added.

"Hey, we never came up with code words." Muttered Sasha through an apple.

Eren rolled his eyes. He knew that if any of his friends ever saw a real ghost, they'd have nightmares for weeks.

He waded through the grass, far more worried about snakes and spiders then he was spirits. He could hear his friends still shouting as he approached the ruins. Armin begging him to come back, Jean asking him if he could have Eren's Nintendo if he happened to get lost inside. Eren was fairly certain it was that kind of stuff that brought souls back from the dead in the first place.

There was only one way to get into the ruins anymore, through an opening on the second floor that you had to climb over a convenient pile of debris to get to.

The castle's main section had once been three stories high, or so all the historians were saying. At one point in time, before either of Eren's parents had even been born, the top floor had completely caved in, leaving the second floor a hazardous playground for disaster. The first floor was apparently largely undamaged but also a pretty serious risk of being crushed by the second floor. Eren wasn't overly concerned by this.

He quickly scaled the pile with the deftness only a seven-year-old with way too much energy possessed. Once at the top he paused and looked back out over the clearing.

The others waved to him and he waved back before ducking down and crawling inside the open.

He was immediately hit by a solid wall of dust and the smell of mould. That was what it always smelt like, but Eren scrunched up his face none the less.

He could feel screams embedded in the crumbling walls, the tears and fear. It was always like that.

He squinted into the darkness, as his eyes slowly adjusted to the dimness. The sun would break through in small beams here and there, but other than that, it was completely black.

The space right inside the opening was only clear for the first few feet before the right side was completely blocked off by debris. Eren bent low, going in further on the left side instead.

Only a few steps more and Eren could stand up again, but even then, he couldn't go on much deeper. The second floor truly was a death trap. Every inch of the place creaked and groaned like it was in pain.

An entire section of the floor before him was one big gaping hole. This is was how you got down to the second floor.

Eren peered down into the dark, he could just barely make out the various shapes of blocks of stones and wood that had come crashing down right through the floor. Somewhere in all, that mess was a more or less stable section that one could climb down provided they were small and light enough and lucky for Eren, he was.

The floor creaked under Eren's feet, the stone could have been seconds away from crumbling for all he knew. He crouched down, sitting with his legs dangling over the edge.

He thought he heard a distance voice whisper something. He probably had.

It took a moment, but he found the foothold and slowly turned himself around so be could begin his descent to the second floor. It was narrow and always a tight fit for him. Someone thinner like Connie or Christa wouldn't have had a problem.

Although he would never admit it, this part unnerved him. One slip, one mistake, one chance to grab onto the wrong hold and he would fall. He wouldn't fall very far, of course, he would certainly hit something before then. The creaks that filled his ears sounds eerily like the sound Thomas's leg had made when he'd fallen out of a tree the previous summer.

Eren tried not to think about it as he neared the bottom.

The last section widened and Eren stood firmly on a large slab of stone. He looked out at the space around, a dark chasm cut off from the rest of the world. Several meters on either side of himself was the wreckage from the second and third floors, further than that, was almost completely untouched.

Eren smiled and climbed down from the rubbage, stepping freely into the darkness.

He could feel the horror that had happened within the walls. The first time he'd found his way down to the first floor it had hit him so hard he'd scrambled back out into the forest and cried for an hour. It had covered his entire body, pressing down with hundreds of years of sorrow until he could barely breathe.

Since then, he'd gotten better at handling it and the occupants of the castle knew better than to rush at him all at once.

"Hello?" He called out, voice echoing around him. "Anyone here?"

A second passed as the temperature dropped and the room was filled with light.

Eren looked down at the lantern by the wall, where he had left it last time. Despite it not having any batteries or solar power or even gasoline, a flame burned brightly inside the glass. The coil had turned to dust years ago, but so had much of the castle and yet there was still a presence.

"Thanks." Said Eren, bending down to pick up the lantern.

His mother had always taught him to use his manners. He didn't see why this should have been any different.

He held the light up to see the rest of the room. On the corner of his vision, he saw a figure and then he spotted something shifting to his left.

"Who is it?" He asked and then waited a moment.

_"Hello, Eren."_ A familiar voice spoke with a gravity of knowledge and responsibility. It sounded like it was coming from all around him but Eren felt as though it was ahead of him.

"Oh, hey, Commander." Eren took a moment to brush off some of the dirt from his knees. "I won't be here long. That stupid Horse Face dared Reiner to come in here but I said I would instead. I didn't want Reiner's big butt coming in here and messing up the place. You guys don't have that much space as it is."

_"Awe! That's nice of you!"_ Another familiar voice called out loudly right behind Eren.

_"There's no need to yell, moron."_ A condescending voice joined the two others.

"Hey, guys." Eren's turned in a circle as he spoke, catching glimpses of figures on his peripheral vision.

_"Hello~"_

_"Shut up."_

_"Oh, really. He's the only one we ever get to talk to anymore and you're going to be like that?"_

Eren giggled to himself. Captain and the one he named Eyepatch, were always squabbling like that. The Commander had once told Eren that it had been amusing that they'd managed to keep it up after all this time but after the first hundred years or so I become quite irritating.

Truth be told, the presence of the three was always much more intimidating then hearing their voices. The voices made them seem human even when Eren couldn't see them clearly, but it was the emotion they carried with them that Eren could feel, thick and heavy like fatigue on a summers day.

Commander reminded Eren of his principal when it came to an authoritative tone, but his principal lacked the depth of all the sadness and sacrifice that Commander carried. Commander was still in charge, even after so many years had passed, the others listened to him. He was always in control, always the first to speak and the first to reach out.

When the Commander had first spoken directly to him, Eren had been beyond frightened. He'd never heard a voice that carried so much weight behind it before. This man felt things heavily in both life and death. Even though all that weight, his tone was usually warm and welcoming, but Eren had always gotten the feeling that Commander couldn't be completely trusted.

The second voice to speak out to Eren was Eyepatch. Eyepatch made Eren laugh just as much as they put him on edge and it wasn't just because Eyepatch was the first one to completely reveal themselves to Eren. That was how Eren had named them in fact, as they wore an eye patch over the left side of their face.

Although Eyepatch's voice was always open and friendly, it had rougher moments where they seemed to lose themselves to some kind of fascination. Those moments always made Eren's heart skip a beat. Eyepatch seemed to have good intentions but how those intentions wouldn't necessarily be good for Eren.

The last voice but not the last presence was Captain. Captain had always struck Eren as tired to the point of exhaustion, yet he also managed to muster up the energy to argue with Eyepatch. His voice was almost as deep as Commander's but just as sorrowful. He was far more reserved than the others, especially in the beginning. He didn't think they should have been talking to Eren at all and it had taken multiple visits before he finally relented.

Captain was stern and orderly, not unlike Commander but far more brash and quick to insult. Behind all the grumbling and swearing, Eren could feel the screams, the blood, the wind. Captain had been in the thick of it, although Eren could never figure out what 'it' had been exactly. No one would tell him.

_"Is your sister not worried about you?"_ Asked Commander.

"Mikasa's sick." Explained Eren. "She didn't even have to go to school today."

_"School is important."_ Said Commander.

"You sound like my mother," Eren grumbled, shuffling his feet.

_"And she's right."_ Said Captain.

"Hey, don't gang up on me." Eren pouted.

"Awe, he's so cute." Eyepatch cooed.

_"Do not fucking coddle him from the grave."_ Captain hissed.

_"I'm not coddling him! I can't help if he's cute!"_

Eren felt something brush behind him and he froze.

"Who else is here?" He asked, voice shaking slightly.

He could always tell when there were others around and there was always two or three when he spoke to Commander, Captain and eyepatch. They had remained silent though, never speaking a word. They'd never gotten so bold as to make themselves actively known.

_"Just speak if you want his damn attention so badly,"_ Captain growled.

_"...Hi."_

"Oh. Hello." Eren greeted the woman's voice. "Nice to meet you."

_"Nice...to meet you as well."_

This voice was much fainter than the others, almost like it was travelling on a breeze rather than in Eren's ear.

_"Have you been here as long as the others?"_ Eren asked.

_"Longer."_ The soft voice replied.

Eren got the sense her presence simply wasn't as prominent as the others. It wasn't as though they were oppressing her, Captain himself had told her to speak up. This soft, sad voice was actually closer to things Eren had heard before. Most presences weren't as strong and clear as Commander, Captain and Eyepatch.

Eren felt another light brush, this time against his cheek and saw the flame in the lantern flicker wildly.

_"She's gone now."_ Said Captain.

"I can tell." Eren nodded.

_"You're very perceptive."_ Eyepatch chirpped.

"What does that mean?" Eren frowned.

_"Let's just say you see and sense things that most people tend to miss."_ Eyepatch explained.

"Like you guys?" Asked Eren, setting down the lantern and sitting beside it. It was quite heavy for a seven-year-old to hold for so long. "And hearing voices and feelings that aren't around anymore?"

_"Exactly!"_

"My mum said she used to be able to see things when she was little, but she can't anymore." Eren rested his elbows on his knees. "Do you think that will happen to me?"

_"Oh, well...I don't know."_ Said Eyepatch admittedly.

"I don't want that to happen." Eren pouted. "Then I won't be able to talk to you guys anymore."

_"It might be for the best."_ Said Commander. _"You can't sit in these ruins with us your entire life. There's a whole world out there after all."_

"But that world is boring!" Eren grumbled. "With teachers and homework and chores."

_"This place wasn't meant for you, Eren. Not yet"_

The desperation that was suddenly so clear in Commander's voice sent a cold shiver down Eren's spine, leaving him covered in goosebumps.

_"You're lucky to be a part of that world."_

"You mean I'm lucky I'm alive."

_"Yes."_

"But what if I spend too much time out there and I forget about what's in here?" Asked Eren, pensively, drawing circles on a patch of damp moss by his foot.

_"Trust me, Eren."_ Said Captain. _"You don't want to spend your time down here with us."_

"Is it really that bad?"

Silence.

Eren could still feel all three of them there, they were just choosing not to answer. Their silence spoke volumes. Even Eren's young mind could figure that much out.

"If it's that bad, why don't you leave?" He asked.

_"We will."_ Said Commander, voice firm and final. _"But we can't just yet."_

"Why not?"

"Eren!"

Jean's voice echoed throughout the space and instantly the lantern light flickered out, leaving him in utter darkness.

"Stupid Horse Face," Eren grumbled, getting to his feet.

Everyone was gone now, or rather they had pulled back.

"Eren! You still alive in there?"

Jean sounded like he was trying to make a joke but the slight tremble of his voice betrayed him. "Come on! Armin's gonna go get your parents if you don't hurry up!"

Eren quickly placed the lantern by the wall where he left it every time and hurried to the pile of rubble beneath the hole in the second storey floor.

"Eren! I'm not kidding, idiot!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!" He yelled back up and reach up to grab the first hand hold. "Stupid freaking Horse Face."


End file.
